1919 Lynching in Montgomery, Alabama
# 1919 Lynching in Montgomery, Alabama

Miles (or Relius) Phifer and Robert Crosky were lynched in Montgomery, Alabama for allegedly assaulting a white woman.

## Lynching of Phifer and Crosky

In August or September 1919 Miles Phifer and Robert Crosky were arrested over allegations they assaulted two white women in separate incidents in Montgomery, Alabama. The Gadsden Daily Times-News reported that the two had confessed to the assaults. A mob had formed and a concerned citizen notified Alabama's Governor Thomas Kilby that there might be a lynching. Kilby ordered the two to be transferred to the relative safety of prison in Wetumpka, Alabama. On September 29, 1919, the sheriff and his deputies were transporting Phifer and Crosky when they were stopped by a white mob, of about 25 masked men. The deputies stood by as the men pulled the two out of the car. They were taken into the wilderness 5 miles (8.0 km) out of Montgomery, Alabama and told to run. As Phifer and Crosky sprinted away from the mob they were gunned down. Croskey was instantly killed, but Phifer lived for a few hours. Phifer and Crosky were discharged soldiers and Phifer was still in his uniform when he was killed.

## Lynching of John Temple

On 2 AM on September 30, 1919, a day after the lynching of Phifer and Crosky, John Temple was lynched in a hospital for allegedly fatally wounding Policeman Barbaree. The two events were not linked.

## Aftermath

These lynchings were one of several incidents of civil unrest that are now known as the American Red Summer of 1919. Attacks on black communities and white oppression spread to more than three dozen cities and counties. In most cases, white mobs attacked African American neighborhoods. In some cases, black community groups resisted the attacks, especially in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Most deaths occurred in rural areas during events like the Elaine race riot in Arkansas, where an estimated 100 to 240 blacks and 5 whites were killed. Other major events of Red Summer were the Chicago race riot and Washington D.C. Race Riot, which caused 38 and 39 deaths, respectively. Both riots had many more non-fatal injuries and extensive property damage reaching up into the millions of dollars.

### Lynchings in Alabama during 1919

| Date | Name | County |
| - | - | - |
| June 6, 1919 | James E. Lewis | Mobile |
| June 18, 1919 | Jim McMillan | Bibb |
| August 2, 1919 | Archie Robinson | Clarke |
| August 2, 1919 | Unnamed man | Clarke |
| September 29, 1919 | Miles Phifer | Montgomery |
| September 29, 1919 | Robert Croskey | Montgomery |
| September 30, 1919 | John Temple | Montgomery |
